Well done GA! SQ need to watch out given that GA’s fares are constantly lower than SQ’s. In the future, GA could easily eat out SQ’s Indonesian market and Singapore market, especially those who travel between SIN and Australia and vise versa.

Hi Generation Y, Good bit of news you’ve given. Should be interesting for competition on their Jakarta to London Heathrow flight as their flight stops in Singapore, allowing a Singapore to Heathrow nonstop service. Got a feeling, the reason for this is the runway at Jakarta isn’t strong enough to allow a 777-300ER (Extended Range) to take off fully loaded this is the reason for the stop. Anyone got any information on the classes of service on Garuda’s flights as all my clients like flat beds in business class?

I flew the A330 and 777 -300 ER back in November Sydney-Jakarta- Amsterdam in business class using up miles from Air France/KLM and was a bit hesitant about Garuda before hand – Excellent on both sectors.Champagne served in large flutes on boarding with several top ups before take off. A Chef on board so meals were tailored and choice of eggs cooked to order for breakfast .The service had that personal touch you don’t often get.The lie flat bed on the 777-300 was good and comfortable, although a snug fit but most are. Live TV news on the entertainment system allowed us to keep up with the dreadful events in Paris at that time.We were in the forward cabin of 3 rows and the First class suites looked amazing up front..I would recommend without hesitation.The flight had no stop in Singapore as many seem to think.

If Garuda started flying these wide body planes on the Sing – Jakarta route, SQ could well be in trouble. Had to take this journey in the not so distant past, and Garuda were definitely the better priced option, however SQ offer an all wide body fleet.I opted for SQ, had a 777 with the angled flat regional J seat and book the cook service. Impressive for an 1hr 45min flight.Very competitive and oft flown route, so good to see a potential race to the top!

HI Jaspat1 – just going by personal experience of my November 2015 travels – whether the new LHR service has a stop in SIN to fill up with more passengers etc , I don’t know but runways were not an issue 2 months ago although it has been mentioned in posts earlier in 2015

I’m on my sixth round trip in GA Executive Class from LGW to CGK and I think it’s great! Seating config. is 1-2-1 which is much better then Emirates 2-3-2 on the same type of aircraft. Fares are very good as well.

I flew GA Business Class on CGK/DPS on an A333 that I selected carefully with determination and was awed by the warmth of the service ,and the great care and attention extended by the crew throughout !..Indeed great !I flew then DPS/CGK/KUL in Economy and was impressed by the same level of warmth in the service ,and care .A flight attendant offered to hang my jacket in Economy as the cabin was packed !!..you never encounter this in Economy CLASS today !GA is great but is wayyyyyyyyy toooooo small to affect SQ !…GA s biggest blockage is the limited network today .Show me the options to fly GA globally ..still too early .I wish them best of luck in their growth plans !

The London/AMS to Jakarta flight will be direct. Only flight to LHR from CGK will stop in SIN.

KSHaggag,

I think SQ will be threaten in term of their share in Indonesian market, and their market share of Asia to Australia market.I see that GA still has a long way to go to compete with SQ in global term, but Australia and NZL to Asia market is another story. However, I agree That GA ‘s effect on SQ would be minimal, I can also see the possibilities of the 2 to merge, given that ASEAN is set to implement their openskies.

I really wish GA a bright future ;i believe what they lack is consistency and clear strategy ;they are on the right track now ,but the quality standards they offer and operate according to deserve a GLOBAL airline ,not just a regional one .They need to be present in India ,in the Middle East ( apart from JED ) ,North America in order to tap the business they deserve .Other carriers offer lower standards but have a larger network,hence a better exposure on the global scene .GA has changed strategy on their european routes so many times that I personally have lost track of where they stand right now ..It is LON and AMS yes BUTTTT nonstop /with one stop /tagged /separate /delinked .etc….???I understand that there are a lot of factors beyond their control ,but we need to see a more present GA ..

KSHaggag – GA was (i.e. past tense) on track, but in the last year or so they have been led astray.

They seem to be losing focus, and quality is slipping. I am a GAMiles Platinum and fly them often domestically and internationally (regionally and long haul) to notice the difference. Serving wilted salad, serving room temp champagne, tough cut of steak, etc. is getting a bit much.

Presence in certain markets are often economic driven. The first thing airlines do when they are in trouble is re-structuring their international presence (GA did this many years ago, cutting Paris, Rome, Madrid, Zurich, etc.. MH did it last year with some of their routes. And the list continues) because these are expensive to operate. So often it doesn’t make sense for airlines to be present for the sake of being present. LON was a tag on to AMS purely for financial reasons at that time, although publicly they also use the runway condition at SHIA as an excuse too. As for US, I heard they have been eyeing to go back to the continent for a while now, but FAA has not given the airline a satisfactory safety rating to allow them to do that.